Courtesy of Townsman chergeuvarra, I believe this video amply displays Tom Jones‘ patented approach to singing anything, a technique described by Townsman alexmagic as thunderballing.
Who’s Captain now, Mike Love?
Mar 262012
Mr. Moderator
Mar 262012
This week’s Mystery Date is courtesy of a Townsperson in good standing.
Let’s review the ground rules here. The Mystery Date song is not necessarily something I believe to be good. So feel free to rip it or praise it. Rather the song is something of interest due to the artist, influences, time period… Your job is to decipher as much as you can about the artist without research. Who do you think it is? Or, Who do you think it sounds like? When do you think it was recorded? Etc…
If you know who it is, don’t spoil it for the rest. Anyone who knows it can play the “mockcarr option.” (And I’ve got a hunch at least one of you know this one.) This option is for those of you who just can’t hold your tongue and must let everyone know just how in-the-know you are by calling it. So if you know who it is and want everyone else to know that you know, email Mr. Moderator at mrmoderator [at] rocktownhall [dot] com. If correct we will post how brilliant you are in the Comments section.
The real test of strength though is to guess as close as possible without knowing. Ready, steady, go!
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Mystery-Date-032612.mp3|titles=Mystery Date 032612]Mar 242012
Sounds of the Hall in roughly 33 1/3 minutes!
In this week’s edition of Saturday Night Shut-In Mr. Moderator and his family serve dinner for a bunch of neighborhood friends as part of a community fundraiser event. While they work, eat, and socialize, enjoy this gab-free mix of food-related numbers.
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-72.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 72][Note: You can add Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your iTunes by clicking here. The Rock Town Hall feed will enable you to easily download Saturday Night Shut-In episodes to your digital music player.]
Mar 242012
I just caught 5 minutes of Grace of My Heart, basically the fictional account of the life of a Carole King-like Brill Building songwriter who comes into her own after a series of failed relationships with goofy, sensitive, creative men. I’m a sucker for this movie. I loved it when it came out, and I easily get sucked into it every time I’m flipping channels and come to a screeching halt. There’s a big fundraiser dinner party at my place tonight, so I had to rip myself away from the TV to get back to work (after this quick post). Anyhow, the whole middle-class ’60s women’s empowerment message is an easy selling point for me, and the movie is loaded with many of my favorite six-pack worthy actors, goofy, sensitive types like John Turturro, Matt Dillon, and Eric Stoltz.
As with another similarly themed movie that I get the sense I alone absolutely love, Peggy Sue Got Married, I don’t expect you to share my love for Grace of My Heart. Laugh at me, if you must. Pull this chink in my exquisite tastes out of your back pocket when you find yourself pinned to the mats by my rock logic. I share this fact with you in hopes of learning what rock-related thing you sense you alone love?
I look forward to your admissions.
Mar 222012
Here’s a good challenge for us, thrown down by an offlist note and video from Townsman Diskojoe:
Go to 1:22 of this except from an old Dobie Gillis episode. I think this was probably the first time a record store was featured in a sitcom:
I know you folks know more than I will ever know about rock ‘n roll, but do you know more than Diskojoe? Can you find an earlier example of record store hipsters on TV?
I look forward to being dazzled by your knowledge.
Mar 222012
I really liked this movie trailer a lot…
…the first time I saw it, when it was this one:
Mar 202012
You know the drill, right? Please provide your gut answers to the following questions. There ain’t no right answer. There ain’t no wrong answer. There’s just YOUR answer—and the answers of your fellow Townspeople.
What song or album have you most recently reconsidered, be it positively or negatively?
What’s your favorite song of your least-favorite genre? For instance, Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me Baby” is probably my favorite ’80s synth-pop song from a genre I couldn’t avoid in its time that I never liked.
Second to Converse Chuck Taylor model sneakers, what are the next-most rocking sneaks?
Do you have an “All-or-Nothing Artist,” that is, an artist whose songs you either love or do not enjoy at all? (For instance, if you’re used to my tastes, The Byrds would be my answer. They have maybe 10 songs I like a lot, but after that they typically don’t have songs I like even a little bit.)
What artist whose music you have little to no interest in do you nevertheless most enjoy as an interview subject?
Conversely, what artist whose music you love do you nevertheless steer clear of as an interview subject?
I look forward to your responses.
